New bus operator reveals employee benefits

Bus drivers working for Tower Transit, Singapore's third bus operator, will get a monthly basic starting pay of $1,865, the London-based transport operator said yesterday.

They will get additional payments based on performance and safe driving. With 10 hours of overtime a week, they can earn up to $3,000 a month, reported The Straits Times Online.

The basic pay offered by Tower is 5 to 15 per cent higher than that offered by the two existing bus operators SBS Transit and SMRT. But Tower's total monthly package is similar to SBS Transit's.

Tower Transit, which won the rights to operate Singapore's first government bus contract, said it has embarked on a "job redesign", allowing bus captains to dispense with duties such as refuelling, cleaning and parking of buses at the end of the day.

Other benefits include free travel for employees on all public transport and 26 weeks of paid maternity leave for female staff.

The terms were developed by Tower Transit in consultation with the National Transport Workers Union.

It will operate 26 bus services out of Bulim Bus Depot, off Jurong West Avenue 2, from the second quarter of 2016.

A total of 450 transport workers from SBS Transit and SMRT will be affected by the move.

Tower Transit said it needs to recruit 750 bus captains in total. It said it made employment offers to the affected drivers at the end of last month.

BY THE NUMBERS

2.2%: Singaporean employees' "real" wage increase in 2016, according to a recent salary trends survey by ECA International. It is predicted to be 1.8 per cent lower than this year due to increased inflation rates.